Yarn feed control mechanism for full fashioned hosiery knitting machines



o. KOE B BERLI NG ET.AL 4 2,062,913 I YARN FEED CONTROL MECHANISM FASHIONED HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINES FOR FULL 5 Sheet-Shet 1 'Filed June 16, 1933 INVENTOR 1936- 0. KOEBBERLING'EI' AL 2,062,913 v YARN FEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR'FULL I Y FASHIONED HOSIERY KNIT TING MACHINES Filed June 16-, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 t is BY "ZATTORNEYS '5 Sheets-Sheqtj 4" MECHANISM FOR FULL KNITTING MACHINES 7 ATTORNEYS;

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Filed June 16, 1935 o. KOEBBERLING ET AL YARN FEED CONTROL FASHIONED HOSIERY Dec. 1, 1936.-

D 1936- o. KOEBBERLING ETAL 0 ,9 YARN FEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR FULL FASHIONED HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINES Filed June l6, 195s 5 Sheets-Sheet s Q 0 IIH'IHIH,

(Ilium-ulighter shaded patches or shadows.

Patented Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED vs'nrrias PATENT OFFICE YARN FEED CONTROL MECHANISM FOR FULL FASHIONED HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINES Application June s, 1933, 'Serial No. 676,062

' 12; Claims. (01. 66-127) This invention relates to yarn feed control mechanism for fullfashioned hosiery knitting machines and more particularly to a mechanism of this character for automatically controllingthe movements of a plurality of yarn carriers so that they will individually and alternately op-' erate to feed a separate yarn or thread to the knitting needles during the knitting of alternate courses of the hosiery fabric. v

In the manufacture of full fashioned silk hosieryon straight knitting machines it has been the customary practice to knit the plain fabric of the hosiery of a single silk yarn or thread. In producing the fabric from this single yarn or thread it has been a difficult problem to knit the .same so that it will have a knitted structure of a uniform texture or appearance.

knitted of the same yarn or thread it will be fabric therein which Will be of a different shade of coloror which will be of a different texture than the rest of the fabric. When such a stocking is worn on the leg these fabric areas will show up quite prominently'as dark colored rings ex-- tending around the stocking; or as darker or These areas of a different color or texture occur in the stocking fabric because the single yarn or w thread used in producing the stocking varies at different points throughout its length in its composition, color, or diameter, and when the fabric is being formed, the areas therein which'are' knitted of theportions of the yarn or thread which is of a greater diameter or of a different color or composition will, comprise a more dense or a darker or lighter shaded knitted structure than the remainder of the fabric.

We have discovered that if the fabric of the stocking is knitted of at least three separate yarns or threads of the approximate same character as to size andcolorinstead of a single yarn or thread as'heretofore, and these threads are caused to be fed separately and alternately to the knitting needles of the machine during the knitting of alternate courses of the fabric, the irregularities present in different portions of the yarns or threads used will be diifused and distributedthrou ghout the fabric produced and the formation of the above mentioned rings and dif It is the main object of the present invention to provide suitable mechanism for the kn tting Fig. 3 is a sectional view of Fig. 2, taken on machine which will automatically effect and regulate the feeding of threeor more separate yarns or threads to the knitting needles during the knitting of alternating courses of the fabric so as to produce. a. fabric structure such as above re-. 5 ferred to. f

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for effecting and regulating the feeding of separate yarns alternately to the knit- ;ting' needles in the manner above mentioned,

which will be simple in construction, eflicient in operation, and'inexpensive to manufacture, and whichfmay be applied to the usual types of full fashionedknitting machines without any change having to be made in the-construction or the operation of the usual operating parts of the 1 I machine. Usually, when a number of stockings have been Further objects of the invention will be more fully set forth hereinafter. found that some of them will contain areas of I Referring to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a cross-section through atypical full fashioned straight hosiery knitting machine and indicating only sufilcient of the operating parts of the machine as is necessary to properly understand and describe the mechanism of our invention and the operation thereof; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of Fig. 1, taken on the line 22 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

the line 3-3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the arrangement of the carrier rods, carrier stops, arrest- 5 ing levers and other mechanisms'of the knitting machinewhich cooperate in carrying out the yarn feed control .in accordance with our invention. This figure shows the various mechanisms in their-initial positionwhen the knitting operation 40' is to start. i

Fig. 5 is-a view of the-mechanism illustrated inFig. 4 taken on the line 5-5 and looking. in I thedirection of the arrows; 1

Figs. '6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are views similar to Fig. 4 but showing the positions of the several parts of the mechanism during different steps of the knitting; v

Fig. 11' .is a view of .Fig. 10 taken on the line i il-ll and looking in the direction of-the arrows; and.

Fig. 12 is a view-similar toFig 4 and showing the final position of the various mechanisms after a full cycle of their operations have been comp eted.

I In the drawings there is illustrated only those parts of the knitting machine which are pertinent in connection with the description of our invention, the parts omitted being of well understood construction.

Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown therein the usual yarn supply mechanism of a typical full fashioned knitting machine. This mechanism type of construction which areadapted to house the yarn cones 4 therein. The moistening boxes are mounted on a shelf or support 2, which is secured to the gallows 3. As is well known, the moistening boxes are positioned along the length of the machine andthe yarn cones 4 mounted therein supply yarn to the needles at each knitting section. The yarns 5 from each of the cones are drawn up through suitable eyes 6 in the top of the moistening boxes. In the drawings, for the sake of clearne'ss, only one yarn thread is shown as extending through an eyelet in the top of the moistening boxes, but it is to be understood that in the actual knitting opera tion as performed in accordance with our invention, there will be yarn threads from a plurality of the cones 4 which will be utilized in the knitting.

The yarns after being drawn through the eyes 6 are passed over separating rods 1 which are supported by brackets'lA. The yarns then pass through oil cups 8 and are pulled down by tension rings slidably mounted on tension rods (not shown) and are held by snappers' 9. The yarns then pass through the separating rods I 0 and the.

eyelets of the yarn carriers II. As is well understood, when the carriers are in position over the knitting sections and are moved by the carrier of the knitting needles I2 and as the knitting mechanism functions the fabric of the hosiery I is knitted from said yarn.

Also, as is well known, the snappers 9 are intermittently operated by a cam mounted on the With respect to the mechanism which effects.

the knitting of the hosiery fabric, it is unnecessary to describe the same in detail herein. Suflicient illustration of said mechanism appears in Figs. 1 and 2 where it will be seen that the knitting needles I 2 are positioned in needle bars I4 and stand "in a vertical position at each section of the machine. In the knitting operation the needlebars are caused tohave both a vertical and a horizontal movement.

These movements are effected through a system of levers which are operated by cams on the main cam shaft of the machine- The two systems of levers above referred to are indicated respectively at I5, I5 and I5, and at l6, I6, and 5 in Fig. 1.-

As the important feature of this invention is concerned with the automatic control of, the feeding of separate yarns to the knitting needles during the knitting of the courses of the hosiery fabric, the usual construction arrangement and operation of the mechanism ordinarily employed for feeding the yarn will now be briefly referred to. I

The y'arn. carriers II shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are positioned at each section of the knitting machine. There are usually sevenfof these yarn carriers located at each section. The yarn carriers are secured to yarn carrier rods indicated,

of or in operative position with respect to the knitting needles.

The yarn carrier rods extend in one piece throughout the entire length of the machine and are 'slidably supported in carrier rod stands or brackets I8 which are rigidly secured to the frame of the knitting machine.

Thecarrier rods 1 I are caused to be reciprocated back and forth, I

thus transmitting a similar movement to the thread carriers across the knitting sections. The reciprocating movements of the carrier rods is produced by the friction boxes I9, one for each carrier rod and in permanent drive connection therewith in the operation of thecarrier rods in repeated orderly sequence in the manner hereinafter set forth. The friction boxes I9 are part of the Well known Coulier motion'of the knitting machinewhich, as is well understood, furnishes the means for transmitting the rotary motion of the cam shaft of the machine into reciprocating motion for operating the friction rod 20 upon which the friction boxes I9 are mounted. In Fig. 1 the mechanism of the Coulier motion is indicated generally at 2|. This mechanism actuates the pitman or rod 22, the lower end of which is .pivotally mounted at 23a. The upper end of rod 22 is attached to the friction rod 20 and with each revolution of the main cam shaft of the machine a rocking movement is imparted to red 22 so that it causes the friction rod to be moved in a direction from left to right and from right to left.

The friction boxes I9 are removably attached to the carrier rods by means of the slides 23 (see Fig. 4) and whensaid boxes are actuated by the friction rod they move the carrier rods through a distance which is governed by the position of carrier rod stops 24 and 25 located at the ends of the machine. The carrier rod stops 24 and 25 provide means for making the yarn carriers II at each section travel only a distance corresponding to the number of needles that are knitting. A separate stop is provided for each carrier rod at each end of the machine and they are usually arranged as levers so that they may be adjusted and so they can be thrown out of or into operative position. By means of these carrier rod stops 24 and 25 at the ends of the machine, when the end of a carrier rod strikes its respective stop on its travel in one direction, the movement of the thread carriers secured to that carrier bar is arrested in that direction and when the said car- 7 rier bar is moved in the opposite direction the extent of its movement is limited by a stop which its other end strikes. V

As above mentioned, the end carrier rod stops provide the means for'making the yarn carriers travel coincide with the number of needles of the machine that are knitting at a particular time.

end stops being moved inwardly, by the movement of the narrowing nut 25 which is effected by the narrowing mechanism as is well understood.

In carrying out our invention wemake use of the operations of three or more of the usual carrier rods and their respective yarn carriers and we provide a special means for automatically controlling the movements of these carrier rods and their yarn carriers so that the yarn carried by the carriers will be fed to the knitting needles during the knitting of alternate courses of the fabric. i

In accomplishing the automatic control of the movements of the carrier rods we provide a pair of grooved arresting lever blocks 29 and 29 which are mounted on and secured to the carrier rod nuts 25 at each end of the machine. 'I'hese arresting lever blocks are secured to the carrier rod nuts by means of suitable bolts 36 and are also supported by means of the fork 3| which slidingly embraces the rods 32 and 33 at the rear of the machine.

The grooves provided in the arresting lever blocks are' adapted -to slidably receive three or more arresting levers. .In the drawings thereis shown the three arresting levers 34,35 and 36 cooperating with the grooves in the arresting lever block 29 and the levers 31, 38 and 39 cooperating witharresting lever block 29; These arresting levers are designed to control the movements of'the three carrier rods 26, 21 and 28. The arresting levers are pivotally mounted on the rods 32 and 33 and each is normally held in its groove in the blocks and 29*- by means of a spring 46 (see Fig. 3). provided with slots, as shown in Fig. 3, which are positioned so that the carrier rods may pass through the same at certain times during the movements of said rods. levers is provided with a handle 42, so that it can be manually lifted from its grooves in the blocks 29 and 29 As above mentioned, we utilize three carrier rods 26, 21 and 28 in carrying outthe objects of our invention. Mounted on each ofsaid carrier rods at predetermined points are a series of Q stops. Referring to Figs. 4 to 12 it will be seen that carrier rod 26 is provided with the stops 43, 44, 45, and 46. The stops 44 and 45 are offset from saidrod. ,The carrier rod 21 is provided with the stops 4! and 48 and the carrier rod 28 is provided. with the stops 5| and 53. These stops are so positioned on their respective carrier rods so that during the movements imparted .to said carrier rods they will pass through the grooves formed in certain of the arresting levers and will be stopped by certain other of the said arresting levers. They are also provided with inclined ends which are positioned so that they' will effect the'raising of certain of the levers from their groovesin the blocks 29 and 29 during the travel of thecarrier rods when they are moved in a certain direction. 1 Before describing how this arrangement 5 of carrier rods, and their respective stops, and the arresting lever assembly function in carrying out the objects of our invention, we will first set forth the manner in which the several parts mustinitially be positioned before the knitting operaportion'of the hosiery has been knitted in the 'usual. manner by using only one carrier rod and one yarn carrier, the machine is stopped withthe knitting needles set at'theirlowermost position The arresting levers are Eachof the arresting and all of the arresting levers are raised out of their grooves in the arresting lever blocks.

The friction which'was attached to the welt then pushed up against the said stop screw 25 and the arresting levers forsaid rod at both ends of the machine are lowered by means of their handles 42. In the same way the carrier rod 21 is positioned. Its stop screw finger 25 is lowered and the rod is pushed 'back until its end contacts with the said stop screw finger and its arresting levers are lowered into their grooves in the arresting lever blocksn The carrier rod 28' is then. positioned so thatits left hand and abuts against the stop screw finger 24, and its arresting levers are lowered into position.

When the three .carrier rods have thus. been positioned the right hand end of carrier rod 28 will be approximately fourteen inches from its right hand stop screw 25 and the left hand ends of carrier rods 26 and 21 will be the same dis-- tance from the left hand stop screws 24.

The needles of the machine are then caused to be raised to their fullest heighth and the friction slide levers 23 are attached to their respective carrier rods 26, 21 and 28. U

Referring to Figures '7, 8, 9, 10, and 12, illustrating the relative positions of the carrier rods inknitting succeeding courses of differentyarns in the manner herein set forth, Figure 7 illustrates two of the carrier rods 21 and 28 in their right hand position, and carrier rod 26 in its left hand position. In this position of the carrier rods, carrier rod 28 has, through its stop, elevated the arresting lever so as to release carrier rod 21 for travel to the left. When carrier rod 21 has reached its left hand position, as indicated in Figure 8, the stop thereof will elevate the arresting lever 31 of rod 26 so that the same may travel to the right. In Figure 9, the carrier rod'26 has reached its right hand position, with the result that the stop thereon has elevated the arresting lever 34 for release of carrier rod 28 for'movement to the left. In Figure 10, the carrier rod 28 has reached its left hand position with the result that the stop thereon has elevated the Figure '7, and this cycle ofoperation of the threecarrier rods is repeated over and over again in the knitting of the fabric.

The various parts of the mechanism are now positioned and arranged so that the knitting operation can proceed and we will now describe how the same function in carrying out the objects or our invention.

- When the knitting machine is started in action one of the friction boxes I9 forming part of the Coulier motion causes the carrier rod 26 to move to the left and the carriers I I attached to said rod lay their thread across the knitting needles at each section from right to left so that the face thereof will lift arresting lever 39 and hold flrst course of the fabric can be knitted. The friction boxes controlling the movements of the carrier rods 21 and 28 will not function to move said rods and the friction rod 28 will slide through said friction boxes because the rods 21 and 28 are prevented from moving to the left. Carrier rod 21 is held against movement by reason of the fact that its stop 41 is arrested by lever 35 and carrier rod 28 is already positioned so that its left hand end is abutting against its left hand end stop 24 and further movement to the left is not possible.

As the carrier rod 26 is moving to the left, and before it contacts with its end stop 24, the stops 43 and 44 on its lefthand end come in contact with arresting levers 39, 38 and 31. The stop 43 will pass through the slotted grooves in arresting levers 38 and 39 and the inclined face on said-stop will contact with a beveled face of arresting lever 31 and cause said lever to raise against the action of the spring 40.

As stop 43 passes from under lever 31 the spring 48 will cause said lever to return to its groove in the arresting lever block 29 and it will then be positioned in front of and will contact with the right hand face of stop 43 and will thus prevent a return movement of carrier rod 26 when the friction rod 28 is again reciprocated to the right. The other stop 44 on the left end of carrier rod 26 is offset and during the movement of the carrier rod to the left the inclined the same in a raised position.

The raising of arresting lever 38 by the stop- 44 allows carrier stop 5| .on carrier rod 28 to be released and on the return movement of friction-- rod 28 the friction box l9 secured to carrier rod 28 will cause said carrier rod to be moved to the right and to lay yarn from its carrier ll across the knitting needles from leftto right so that p the next course of knitting .can be effected.

It will be noted, by reference to Fig. -4, that before movement is'givencarrier rod 28, the stop 5| also lies under arresting lever 38 which controls the movements of carrier rod '21 but this makes no difference as the thread for the course being knitted is laid from left to right and the inclined faces on stops 43. and 44 on carrier rod 26 and as carrier rod 28 moves to the right the inclined end of said stop 53 comes in contact with' the beveled face of arresting levers.34 and 35 and raises said levers out of their grooves in block 29. As the stop passes from underneath lever 34, said lever through the action of its spring 48 is returned to its groove in block 29 and forms a barrier against stop 53 and the return -movement to the left of carrier rod 28 is prevented wher'r'the friction rod 28 is caused to be moved to the left again. When carrier rod 28-has completed its movement to the right the stop 53 will be under arresting lever 35 and will hold said lever in a raised position. Theraising of lever 35 releases carrier rod stop 41 oncarrier rod 21 and on the returnstroke of the: friction rod 28 to the left said carrier rod 21 is moved also to the left and its carrier ll lays its yarn on the knitting needles from left to right so as to knit the next course of the fabric.

When the carrier rod 21 has completed its travel to the left (see Fig. 8) its end comes in contact with the end stop screw 24. Carrier rod 21 has mounted on it, at a predetermined distance near its left end, the carrier r'od stop 48. The left hand end of stop 48 has an inclined edge and when said stop comes in contact with the beveled faces of arresting levers 31 and 38,.it raises said levers. pulls it back into its groove in the arresting lever block as stop 48 passes underneath the same and when carrier rod 21 has completed its stroke to the left, the right end face of stop 48 is directly in contact with and engaged by arresting lever 38 and rod 21 is thus prevented from moving to the right during the return stroke of the friction rod. The stop 48 at the same time, when carrier rod 21 has completed its movement to the left, comes to rest under arresting lever 31 and thus holds the said lever in a raised position. This permits the carrierrod 26 to be released so that it can be moved to the right by reason of the fact.

that the stop 43 on said rod is allowed to pass underneath arresting lever 31. This movement The spring .40 of lever 38 of the carrier rod 26 to therlght is indicated in levers 36 and 34 and when the movement is com-- pleted the stop 46 has passed underneath the lever 36' and said lever is returned to its groove .by its spring and presents a barrier for stop 48 so that carrier rod 26 cannot make a return stroke to the left. The carrier rod stop'45 at the completion of the stroke of carrier rod 26 to the right is positioned underneath the arresting lever 34 and said lever is held in a raised position.

This enables stop 53 on carrier rod 28, which has been held against arresting lever 34, to be released and its carrier rod 28 is thus enabled to be moved to the left so that its carrier II will lay (its thread on the knitting needles for the knitting of the next course.

As carrier rod 28 completes its course of travel from right'to left it is prevented from having a return movement, as indicated in Fig. 10, because the stop 5| during the movement of the carrier rod raises levers 39 and 38 and as it passes underneath lever 39 said lever is returned to its groove in the left arresting lever block and forms a barrier for the stop on any return movement to the right. At the same time said stop 5l-comes to rest under lever 38 and keeps said lever in a raised position and this allows stop 48 on carrier rod 21 to be released so that said rod 21 can be moved to the right by the friction box and friction rod and-so the yarn from its yarn carrier ll can be laid on the knitting needles for the knitting of the next course of the fabricto the left by the friction rod and lever 36 isheldby said stop in raised position so-thatthe carrier rod stop46 mounted on carrier rod 26 and which has previously been held against movement by said lever, is released and rod 26 is then again moved by the friction rod and its friction box so as to lay thread from its carrier from right to left, thus completing a cycle of movements of the carrier rods 26, 21 and 28 in automatically producing the knitting of alternate courses of the fabric from separate threads. This alternate knitting of the courses of the fabric continues until ,the entire stocking leg is completed. It can be seen by this method of knitting that if the threads used in producing the fabric should vary throughout their length in their color or size, such irregularities will be distributed throughout the knitted structure and a uniform texture of fabric will be produced.

It will also be noted that by reason of our arrangement of the arresting lever blocks 29 and 29 with their arresting levers 34, 35, 36, 31, 38 and 39 mounted on the carrier rod blocks 25, which in turn are mounted on the usual carrier rod screw 25 at the ends of the machine, the

mechanism' of our invention will be capable of Q functioning even while the stocking fabric is being narrowed by the narrowing mechanism of the machine.

While we have described and illustrated the automatic control of the operation of three thread carrier rods and their respective thread carriers in carrying out the objects of our invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in this respect as more than three thread carrier rods and thread carriers having means mounted thereon for feeding 'separate yarns to the needles, means for reciprocat-- may be utilized to accomplish the purposes set forth herein.

Having now described the construction and operation of our yarn feed control mechanism, what we claim is:

1. In a machine for knitting full fashioned hosiery webs which includes a series of knitting needles; a plurality of yarn carrier rods each having mounted thereon yarn carriers for feeding separate yarns of thepsamecolor and char-- acter to the needles, means for reciprocating said yarn carrier rods so that their respective yarn carriers will feed their yarn to the needles;

means for controlling the reciprocating movements of each of said yar'n carrier rods so that its yarn carriers will alternately feed yarn to the knitting needles and effect the knitting of alternate courses of the hosiery web of a different thread, said last mentioned controlling means being alternately operated by the carrier rods as they are reciprocated by the reciprocating means.

2. A machine for knitting full fashioned stocking webs including a series of needles; aplurality of yarn carrier rods each having mounted ing the knitting of alternate courses of the,stockingweb; and means on said carrier rods for operating said last mentioned controlling means as said carrier rods are,reciprocated bysaid reciprocating means.

3. A machine for knitting stocking webs, includinga series of knitting needles, a plurality of yarn carrier rods each ing said yarn. carrier rods so that their yarn run. fashioned u feeding means will feed their yarns to said needles; means for automatically varying the extent of the reciprocating movement of said carrier rods, means secured to said last mentioned means and under the control of said carrier rods for controlling the reciprocating movements of each of said carrier rods so that its particular yarn carrier will only feed yarn to the knitting needles during the knitting of alternate courses of the stocking web.

4. A machine for knitting full fashioned stocking webs, including a series of knitting needles, a plurality of yarn' carrier rods each having means mounted thereon for feeding separate yarns to the needles, means for reciprocating said yarn carrier rods so that their yarn feeding means will feed their yarns to said needles; means for automatically varying the extent of the reciprocating movement of said carrier rods,

'means secured to said last mentioned means for controlling the reciprocating movements of each of said carrier rods so that its particular yarn carrier will only feed yarn to the knitting needles during the knitting of alternate courses of the stocking web, and means mounted on said carrier rods for effecting the operation of said last mentioned carrier rod control means as said carrier rods are reciprocated by said reciprocating means.

5. A machine for knitting full fashioned stocking webs including a series of knitting needles; a plurality of yarn carrier rods each having yarn feeding means mounted thereon for feeding separate yarns to the needles; means for imparting a reciprocating movement to said carrier rods so that their respective yarn feeding means will feed yarn to said needles; means for automatically varying the extent of the reciprocating movement of said carrier rods; and means mounted on said last mentioned means .andunder the control of said carrier rods for controlling the reciprocating movements of each of said carrier rods so that its particular yarn feeding means will only feed yarn to the knitting needles during the knitting of predetermined courses of the stocking web. 7 Y

6. A machine for knitting full fashioned stocking webs including a series, of knitting needles; a plurality of yarn carrier rods each having yarn feeding means mounted thereon;

means for imparting a reciprocating movement to said carrier rods so that-their respective yarn feeding means will feed yarn to the knitting needles; -means for. automatically varying the determined courses of the stocking fabric; said last mentioned means comprising a plurality of pivotally mounted arresting-levers adapted to be positioned with respect to each of saidcarrier rods so as to arrest or permit its reciprocating movement at predetermined intervals; and means on said carrier rods for effecting the positioning of said arresting levers as said rods are reciprocated by said reciprocating means. p

7. 'Amachine for knitting full fashioned stocking webs including a series of knitting needles, a plurality of yarn carrier rods each having yarn feeding means mounted thereon for feeding separate yarns to the needles; means for imparting of pivotally mounted arresting levers slidably received in the grooves of said block and positioned so as ,toarrest the reciprocating movement of said carrier rods; means on said carrier rods for effecting the raising of certain of said.

arresting levers from their grooves in said blocks and for engaging against other of said levers as said rods are reciprocated so as to effect the release of certain of the carrier rods whose movement has been arrested by said levers, and to arrest the reciprocation of certain other 01' said rods.

8. A machine for knitting full fashioned stocking webs including a series of knitting needles, a plurality of yarn carrier rods each having yarn feeding means mounted thereon for feeding separate yarns to the needles; means for imparting a, reciprocating movement to three of said yarn carrier rods so that their respective yarn feeding means will feed their yarn to the needles; movable means for automatically varying the extent of the reciprocating movement of said three carrier rods; means under the control of said carrier rods mounted on said last mentioned means and adapted to move with the same for controlling the reciprocating movements of each of said three carrier rods so that their respective yarn feeding means will only be moved alternately to feed yarn to the needles.

9. In a machine for knitting full fashioned stocking webs including a series of knitting needles and a. plurality of yarn carrier rods having yarn carriers for supplying yarn of the same character and color to the needles; a yarn feed control means for automatically controlling the movements of saidyam carrier rods so that their yarn carriers will be individually and alternately operated to feed a separate yarn to the knitting needles during the knitting of alternate courses of the stocking web, said yarn feed control means comprising a plurality of arresting levers which are positioned with respect to the saidcarrier rods so that they will be operated by said rods to alternately arrest or release the same during the knittingof predetermined courses so that their yarn carriers will feed yarn to the needles.

10. In a knitting machine, a plurality of displaceable yarn carrier rods, a movably mounted catch associated with each rod, each catch having means for direct locking engagement with one rod and means operatively related therewith for engagement with another rod, and means on said rods disposed to act upon said second mentioned means for moving the related catch out of locking engagement with its associated rod.

11. In a. flat knitting machine comprising carrier rods carrying cam stop elements, mechanism for selectively reciprocating the -rods, and an attachment including a support, detent levers having cooperating detent-release arm and detent elements carried by the support and biased toward operative position relative to said cam stop elements of the rods .holding the rods against longitudinal movement, the cam stop and detentlever elements being arranged to provide a cooperating pair thereof for each rod each operative in response' to latching movement resulting from a reciprocation of the corresponding rod to vunlatch a pair cooperating with one of the, other rods.

12. In a flat knitting machine comprising carrier rods carrying cam stop elements providing cam surfaces sloping longitudinally of the rods and shoulders transversely thereto, mechanism for selectively longitudinally reciprocating the rods, and an attachment including a support, detent elements on the support and biased toward operative position relative to said cam stop elements having transverse detent portions for said shoulders and detent release arm portions for said cam surfaces, said cam stop and detent elements including a cooperating pair thereof for each rod and the pairs intercooperating with each other laterally of the rods severally torelease another pair, said pairs operating in selective successive step holding and releasing relation to each other.

13. A machine for knitting full fashioned stocking webs, including a series of knitting needles, a plurality of yarn carrier rods each having means mounted thereon for feeding separate yarns to the needles, means for reciprocating said yarn carrier rods so that their yarn feeding means will feed their yarns to said needles;

dles during-the knitting of alternate courses oi.

the stocking web, and means under the control of said carrier rods for effecting the operation of said last mentioned carrier rod control means as said carrier rods are reciprocated by said reciprocating means.

14. In a full fashioned hosiery knitting machine, in combination with the carrier rods there of; means controlled by and actu ted by said carrier rods for progressively and s ccessively looking said carrier rods against movement, and releasing the same for movement.

15. In a full fashioned hosiery knitting machine, ,in combination with the carrier rods, means for reciprocating said rods, and the narrowing nuts of said knitting machine: an attach-- them for, reciprocating movement by said reciprocating means, and manually operated means for rendering said attachment means inoperative in the locking and releasing of said carrier rods.

17. In a full fashioned hosiery knitting machine, in combination: a plurality of carrier rods, means for reciprocating said rods, narrowing mechanism including a pair of narrowing nuts, carrier rod stops carried by said nuts, and an attachment carried by each of said nuts to move therewith and having means engageable with the carrier rods and controlled thereby for sequentially locking said rods against. and releassive sequence, and mechanism cooperating with said means for operating said rods in repeated successive sequence in accordance with the repeated successive sequence of locking and un-, locking of the rods by said means.

o'rro KOEBBERLING. FRED ZWICKY.

JOHN v. HUNT. 

